Getcha Popcorn Ready!

With camps getting started all over the NFL, it’s time to turn more and more of our attention to Lord Football. And I will not be wasting any space on whether or not the league’s biggest diva will or won’t play (we all know he’s coming back, but not until he plants enough doubt with his personal mouthpiece, Chris Mortensen of ESPN, so that in case he fails, he has some built in excuses). What other stories are of interest? Dez Bryant refusing to carry Roy Williams’ pads and then backing off because he “didn’t know it was a tradition” with the Cowboys? More boring than the drama surrounding The Bachelorette, Ali. And as Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News perfectly pointed out – if that’s the ‘Boys big problem, they are going to have a great season. Instead, we learned today that Terrell Owens had signed on to play with the Bengals this season. Well, Cincy – Getcha Popcorn Ready!!

I may be as crazy as the Timberwolves GM, but I actually think this could work very, very well for the Bengals. If Owens can keep his ego in check, he has a chance to put up really good numbers on a team that has the potential to be a factor in the playoffs. Here are the reasons it will not implode:

1 – Carson Palmer
No quarterback in the league has dealt with more “entertainers” at the wide receiver position than Palmer. His main target has been the always-entertaining Chad Ochocinco, and previously he was teamed up with the always-outspoken T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Palmer is as well-prepared as any quarterback in the league to block out egos and just try to make plays. While his numbers were very pedestrian as he came back from missing most of 2008 with an arm injury, he remains a cerebral quarterback and if his arm strength returns, he could be the comeback player of the year.

2 – The Fit
Owens is not nearly as fast as he once was, and he does not have the most reliable hands in the league, but he has the potential to find quite a few openings with Ochocinco stretching the field and rookie TE Jermaine Gresham attracting the attention of linebackers or safeties. It has the potential to fit the same way Katy Perry fits in a bikini – snug and very flattering.

3 – Owens’ Maturity
Has T.O. really matured? It’s hard to say, but despite his previous track record of being an enormous headache, he was very tame last season. Despite playing for a horrendous Bills team with quarterbacks that were more useless than Carrie Underwood in a Chelsea bar, Owens did not ruffle feathers. He posted his weakest season totals since he was a rookie, yet he was almost a model citizen. Has he realized that winning is more important than his diva act? Perhaps. Or was it just but on the back burner until he had the proper spotlight to promote himself? I want to believe that he will be entertaining, yet will play hard and not be a locker room cancer.

4 – The Competition
The AFC North should be extremely compelling this season, with Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh all eyeing the division title. Yet the Ravens are dealing with a banged up secondary – particularly Ed Reed. The Steelers could find themselves in a hole early without Big Ben under center, and their defense was not as strong in 2009 as typical Pittsburgh defenses. Add that to the very young secondary in Cleveland and the Bengals look to have a very good chance to improve upon their poor 26th ranked passing offense.

Owens will no doubt form the most entertaining wide receiver combo with Chad Ochocinco, and when you add Antonio Bryant to the mix (whatever short time he is healthy), the Bengals could have a very potent passing offense that could help to balance the Cedric Benson-led running game. That could make the Bengals very dangerous, so you better getcha popcorn ready.

Phil Jackson to Coach The Bulls? NO!

There is a rumor, or report – depending upon your perspective, that the Bulls have sent out feelers to Phil Jackson’s people to see if Jackson is interested in coaching the Bulls next season. That is not happening. There are a few reasons he may not be coaching the Lakers next season, but if he is not on the bench in LA he will not be on the bench anywhere. Like Ali Fedotowsky, the new Bachelorette that debuted last night, Jackson and Ali are both in high demand, but their shelf life is very limited. Ali is not really famous and just like all of the past “stars” of the reality shows they should appreciate the attention now because they will be long forgotten in less than a year. Jackson is 64 years old with a tremendous amount of health issues regarding his knees and his back. He can barely pace the sidelines and work the officials during the games. He doesn’t have that many years left to coach.

Reason #1 to go to Chicago: First and foremost is……the money. (you thought I was going to mention that LeBron guy)

He’s making $12 million this season and the Lakers have notified him that he will need to take a significant pay cut to return to the LA bench next year.

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: Part of that pay cut may or may not be related to an agreement for Phil to not travel on all of the Lakers roadtrips and other methods to ease the physical burden on him. Yet that is not reported by the big-four-letter. The only thing reported is a cut in salary for the coach with 10 World Championships. That must be a slight and Phil should head for the exits. In reality, the Lakers may be giving him more respect than any other team would to allow him to step back slightly to maintain his health.

Reason #2 to go to Chicago: He remained on good terms with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: He is not dating Reinsdorf’s daughter. He is dating Dr. Jerry Buss’s daughter, Jeanie. That’s a mismatch in favor of LA. It just doesn’t seem very likely that he would up and leave his girlfriend’s father’s team . He has a comfortable life with a team and owner that respects him and allows him to do whatever he needs to do.

Reason #3 to go to Chicago: A Young and Talented Team

The lure of coaching a young and talented team with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and potentially that LeBron James guy. If LeBron were to sign in Chicago the Bulls would have a core of young talent that could challenge for titles for the next 10 years. They would also have the potential cap space to swing a sign and trade with Toronto for Chris Bosh, giving up Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and draft picks. It can be debated whether Rose and James would be a good fit together as both tend to dominate the ball and are primarily penetrators rather than outside shooters, yet you cannot debate whether that team would have the talent to win it all repeatedly.

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: The Lakers have more talent

Yes, the Bulls would be in line to contend for the next ten years with Jackson & James. However he is currently coaching a team that is two wins away from their third straight NBA Finals appearance. He is currently coaching the best player in the game – Kobe Bryant. Yes, Kobe is more on the downside of his career than the upside, but he remains the best closer in the game, the most clutch performer and fiercest competitor. None of that can be said for James or for Rose at this point. Jackson is 64 years old. Add to that his health concerns and it appears unlikely that he will be coaching more than 3 or 4 more years. Bryant will remain lethal for that long. Gasol will still be among the best big men in the game for that long. Andrew Bynum won’t be 25 in 3 years. Lamar Odom will still be on a sugar high (though the concern is that being married to a Kardashian could drive him to the looney bin). He has young assets like Jordan Farmar to replace Derek Fisher, and Shannon Brown to play the Ron Artest role. Why would he leave a sure thing for a chance to see if LeBron really has that ultracompetitive gear?

At the end of the day, Phil has everything he wants in Los Angeles with the Lakers. He has the best team that will remain a title contender the next few years. He has the girl, thanks to the owner. He has made more than enough money in his career to comfortably take a pay cut for less travel and wear and tear on his body. Phil Jackson will be the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers next season.